NSW Fair Trading enforcement decisions ensure safer roads for all
Strong action has been taken against several operators in the motor vehicle market to protect consumers from unsafe, misleading and deceptive conduct.
NSW Fair Trading’s enforcement action has removed unsafe practices from the market, held dishonest operators to account, and secured compensation for affected consumers.
Former real estate agent Thirumalesh Gilraj Ullal was found guilty of selling vehicles with wound back odometers on online marketplaces.
Mr. Ullal used pseudonyms to hide his identity online, where he sold two vehicles with odometers wound back by approximately 160,000 and 190,000 kilometres respectively.
After misrepresenting the odometers, Mr. Ullal sold the vehicles for significantly more than what he bought them for, pocketing around $37,000 in profit.
Mr Ullal was sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order and paid $47,000 in compensation to the two consumers who bought the vehicles.
As a result of that conduct, NSW Fair Trading revoked Mr. Ullal’s real estate license on the basis that he was no longer a fit-and-proper person and imposed a 10-year disqualification period.
Action was also taken against former mechanic Rhys Murnane who had his Motor Vehicle Tradesperson’s Certificate cancelled and has been disqualified from the motor industry for a period of two years after he was convicted of knowingly producing false or misleading vehicle inspection reports.
Across a three-month period, Mr. Murnane issued 38 separate vehicle inspection reports where brake tests were not conducted, posing a major risk to public safety.
In another matter, Babak Razmi Zargah was also found to have misrepresented odometers and was sentenced to a Community Corrections Order for a period of two years, including 200 hours of community service.
Mr Zargah sold 12 vehicles with would back odometers, with a combined reduction of 1.3 million kilometres and produced false logbooks where he profited $87,700 from the scheme, having purchased each vehicle for between $500 and $3,000.
Mr Zargah was ordered to pay $81,609, including $77,609 in compensation to victims.
Criminal proceedings were also brought against Stephanie Yousif for unlicensed motor dealing, odometer tampering and producing false logbooks to match these readings.
Ms Yousif used fake names on online marketplaces where she sold seven vehicles in early 2023, four of those were proven to have had their odometers tampered with.
Across the four vehicles, odometers were collectively wound back by around 680,000 kilometres, with one vehicle being wound back from 290,000 kilometres to 74,000.
The scheme generated Ms Yousif around $12,700 in profit, which she was ordered to pay back. She was also sentenced to a two-year Community Corrections Order and given a $3,000 fine for unlicensed motor dealing.
These outcomes reinforce NSW Fair Trading’s commitment to protecting consumers, improving safety on our roads, and maintaining trust in the motor vehicle market.
Quotes to be attributed to NSW Fair Trading Commissioner, Natasha Mann:
“These cases send a clear message, if you engage in deception, falsify documents or put unsafe vehicles on the road, you will be caught and held accountable.”
“NSW Fair Trading’s regulatory powers extend across industries and unlawful conduct in the one industry may have consequences for a person’s ability to trade in another.”
“This enforcement action removes dangerous operators from the market and helps ensure honest businesses aren’t undercut by unlawful behaviour.”
“We will continue to take action against anyone who seeks to put profits above the safety of NSW consumers.”